Read
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8
Reflect
Ethan was hungry, and the only thing he could think of was a chocolate cake. He had made one before, so he knew what went into it, but he wasn’t sure if he had all of the ingredients necessary. Still, he was really hungry, so instead of making a run to the store, he decided to wing it with whatever he had around the house.
First, the flour. He didn’t have any wheat flour, but there was corn flour, and flour is flour, right? Then, the sugar. There wasn’t any regular sugar, but he had some powdered sugar and brown sugar, so he combined those. Next, cocoa. The more he thought about it, he realized that chocolate was rich, so instead he put in a cup of peanut butter. He didn’t have any baking powder, so he doubled up on baking soda and threw in some yeast. He also didn’t have any milk, but yogurt is dairy, so that went in. Olive oil went in place of vegetable oil, and then there were the eggs. His had been sitting on the counter for a week, but he needed eggs to complete the recipe, and they probably weren’t spoiled yet.
After mixing it, the batter looked odd, but he was hungry, and it was probably OK. But when it came out of the oven, it didn’t look or taste anything like a chocolate cake. It was molten and gooey, and it mainly tasted like rotten peanut garbage. Ethan was mystified. What had gone wrong?
Just as in recipes, our lives require the input of the right ingredients in order for us to move in the right direction. So often we mix in so many of the wrong things. Why should we be surprised that when we put mental and spiritual garbage into our mixture that we end up with a molten, gooey mental and spiritual mess. We add a dash of ugliness, a little dishonesty, some impurity, a smattering of disrespect and a cup or two of mediocrity. Predictably, our hearts, minds and souls end up polluted. None of those items have any place in our lives, but too many of us dabble in these areas way too often.
The Bible tells us to seek the exact opposite: truth, honor, justice, purity, loveliness, excellence and things that are commendable and praiseworthy. These are the ingredients for a healthy mind and a healthy life. Today, pray that the Lord will help you train your thoughts on the things that he esteems and that placing your mind on these heavenly ways will bear spiritual fruit in your life.
(And if you’re hungry for an actual chocolate cake, this is a great recipe to try…)
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
From the Capn's Pen 